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Yuan Cixian did not go to find Xu Shan or Lu Shiqing, but just rode a carriage around Yongxingfang, going from one alley to another, and it took half an hour. Before leaving the alley, she finally went to Lu's mansion, but because it was already night, she did not rush in, but only asked the servants in front of the mansion whether Lu Shiqing had rested.
Cao An was about to go out to see a doctor because Lu Shiqing had been unconscious since he returned home. When he saw her in a hurry, he was shocked and thought that she was doomed. He calmed down before he stepped forward and asked the servant who didn't know the truth, "Are you here to look for your husband?"
Yuan Cixian stood in front of the door and asked instead of answering: "Where are you going at this late hour?"
He scratched his head and said, "Before going to sleep, I remembered something that the young master had asked me to do, and I wanted to do it quickly at night to avoid being punished tomorrow."
Lu Shiqing had so many official duties every day, Yuan Cixian certainly didn't care about everything, so she didn't pay much attention and asked, "Has he rested?"
He continued to smile as calmly as possible: "No, my husband has just finished his work and is taking a shower. Do you want to go in and wait for him?"
Lu Shiqing usually didn't go to bed so early, so he said this as a gamble, intending to allay Yuan Cixian's doubts.
Yuan Cihan really waved her hand and said, "It's almost curfew, I'll go back first. Tell him to take a bath and go to bed early, and don't tell him I was here." After she said that, she nodded to say goodbye and turned to get on the carriage.
Cao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and went through the secret passage to call for the doctor arranged by Zheng Zhuo, then sent the doctor away and returned to Lu Shiqing's bedroom, where he kept watch over him anxiously, not daring to close his eyes for a moment.
Lu Shiqing's injury was concealed even from Xuan and Lu Shuangyu. These few hours were simply a waste of Cao An's life's acting skills. If he didn't wake up, his hair would turn white with worry.
Cao An moved a low stool and sat silently beside Lu Shiqing's bed. Because his high fever had not subsided, he changed the handkerchief to cover his forehead from time to time. It was not until the second half of the night that he saw his gray and almost transparent face slightly red. Near dawn, he finally saw him open his eyes.
His eyes were hot, and he almost pounced on him like a wolf, but the still weak Lu Shiqing raised a finger to stop him: "Don't get excited, I'm not dead yet..."
*
Lu Shiqing only had one day to rest. The next day, it would be his turn to serve Emperor Huining, and the day after tomorrow, there would be a court meeting. He could not miss any of them. If he did not show up, it might arouse Prince Ping's suspicion.
So throughout the whole day, Cao An did his best to take care of him as a servant, wishing he could treat the twelve hours as twelve days. It was not until dusk, when he saw that Lu Shiqing looked better, that he dared to leave him for a while.
As soon as he left, he received a letter. The letter was from Yuan Cixian to "Xu Shan" and was delivered to Lu's residence by Zheng Zhuo's men. He felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he received it, fearing that there might be some sweet words in it that would make his lover, who had finally come back to life, die again. Therefore, he quietly hid it in his sleeve, intending to suppress it for the time being.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he took some porridge back to Lu Shiqing's bedroom, the man leaning against the bed rail and drinking medicine asked him, "You said that girl came last night?"
Cao An uttered a low "ah" and raised his eyes slightly: "Yes..."
Seeing his startled reaction, Lu Shiqing immediately glanced at him.
His acting skills were useless in front of his husband, who had sharp eyes and golden pupils. He was intimidated and dared not move, but he was still discovered. He heard Lu Shiqing put down the porcelain bowl with a "pop" and said coldly: "Take out what's hidden in your sleeve."
He sighed and presented it reluctantly.
Lu Shiqing's eyes fell on the cover and flashed slightly.
Seeing his pale hand stagnate, Cao An wanted to snatch the letter back: "My dear, why don't we not read it?"
Lu Shiqing was also hesitant in his heart, as if he was frightened by a letter for the first time in his life, but he finally took the letter, opened it, sat up straight and started reading.
Yuan Cixian's handwriting was good, a little neater than the casual cursive she wrote him last time. She wrote: "Sir, I am writing to you as if I were you. Because of me, you fell into the hands of the enemy and were seriously injured and unconscious. I should have stayed by your side and taken care of you. However, I was forced by the current situation and had no choice but to retreat. I feel very sorry. I only hope that you will have woken up by the time I finish this letter and will be back to normal soon."
Lu Shiqing tightened his grip on the letter and continued reading.
"Sir, you have risked your life and death for the sake of the country. Your noble character is admirable. I also regret that I am weak and incompetent, and because of my body, I am unable to go to the government to punish the wicked and eliminate evil. I would work together with you and other people of integrity to help the people and restore the peace and prosperity of the Great Zhou.
What I want is beyond my power, so I can only struggle to survive in the ups and downs of officialdom, so as not to be drowned by the torrent, not to be rotten by rotten wood, not to be worn by knives and stones, and not to change my sincere heart. That's it."
He felt a little sad and turned over a piece of paper to look at it again.
"I understand your friendship, sir, but I may not be able to respond to it in this life. I also don't talk about the afterlife. It's hard to fulfill a promise made in the distant past. Even the day and night cannot be disputed, so how can we talk about the situation a hundred years later?"
"I have been thinking all night, and I can only think of one thing that I can repay you now. From now on, I will take your wish as my own and your ambition as my own. But if one day, there is a place in the four regions where I can use my military skills, even if it is far away, I will go. I have failed you, but I hope that I will no longer fail the people in your heart.
The letter is short but the meaning is long. I can’t finish what I want to say. The current situation is turbulent and there are enemies everywhere. I hope you will take good care of yourself. I sincerely write to you. "
When he reached the end of the letter, Lu Shiqing stood there in a daze.
Seeing this, Cao An asked anxiously, "My dear, what did the letter say?"
Lu Shiqing blinked very slowly, as if he was too shocked to speak for a while.
"Xu Shan" didn't actually make a clear statement to Yuan Cixian, but she was sure, and she didn't cowardly evade, nor did she ask carelessly, but replied directly. Lu Shiqing didn't expect that when he reluctantly made preparations to see her express her feelings to "Xu Shan", what appeared in front of him was such a rejection letter.
He couldn't help but be surprised.
I was amazed at her carefreeness, her decisiveness, her frankness. I was amazed at her courage in expanding her territory. I was amazed at her heart that put her love for her country and her family into a big heart.
For a moment, it seemed that he was not Lu Shiqing, but Xu Shan in the letter, the person she chose to let down.
He did not feel happy for Lu Shiqing, who might have won the marriage contract. He just felt distressed, very, very distressed.
He suddenly wanted to see her.
After a long silence, Lu Shiqing said, "Go to Yuan Mansion for me."
Cao An was shocked. What was going on? They wanted to cancel the engagement
He said, "My dear, the engagement was not easy to come by, please don't let it get you down!"
Lu Shiqing glanced at him and said, "Tell Yuan Cixian that I'm sick and ask her to use her conscience to decide whether to come and see me."
Cao An uttered, "No... Sir, are you ready to show your hand?" He then said to himself, "It's good to show your hand..."
"Who said I want to show my hand?" Lu Shiqing interrupted him, "Now is not the time to show my hand."
"What's wrong now? I think you're suffering a lot."
Lu Shiqing sighed. The mess of "Xu Shan" had gotten out of control and it really needed to be resolved as soon as possible. After reading this letter, he had begun to consider confessing, but definitely not right now.
He explained: "What do you think of the relationship between 'Xu Shan' and Yuan Cixian in the eyes of King Ping?"
Cao An affirmed: "After what happened yesterday, we are naturally friends for life and death."
"What do you think of my relationship with Yuan Cixian?"
"You and the county lady are an engaged couple, and you have accompanied each other all the way south, so naturally you are close."
Lu Shiqing nodded: "That's right."
Cao An understood immediately. In fact, even if Lang Jun secretly replaced the assassin's information, Xu Shan's actions yesterday would inevitably make King Ping think of him.
"Prince Ping won't directly suspect me, but he will inevitably test me, so he will have to deal with Yuan Cixian recently." Lu Shiqing explained, "It is best and safest for her to know nothing. When this crisis is resolved, I will find a chance to explain it to her. Now," he looked at Cao An and said coldly, "Tell her right away that I have caught a cold, quickly."
When Cao An saw that he had lost his patience, he quickly turned around and went to do it. Halfway through, he said, "My dear, you can tidy up this room without revealing any flaws, but you don't look like you have a cold, so you'd better not..." Don't be naughty.
Lu Shiqing's face darkened and he said coldly, "Ask Shuangyu to bring some rouge and powder. I want something without any smell, so that it will look like you haven't put on any rouge after applying it."
"… "
*
Lu Shiqing claimed that this was a drill, and that only if he didn't reveal his true intentions in front of Yuan Cixian could he pass the test the next day. Cao An had no choice but to pretend that he didn't know what he was thinking and did as he was told with a twitch of his lips.
When Yuan Cihan arrived, Lu Shiqing was lying in the corner of the bed wrapped in a quilt. The bloody smell around him was gone, and the medicine for his wounds was covered by the strong smell of medicine. The bandages were hidden under his inner clothes, and his complexion and even the color of his lips were all just perfect.
Yuan Cixian hurried to his bedside and said, "What's wrong? You were fine the day before yesterday." As she spoke, she touched his forehead, which was really hot. She couldn't help but ask, "Lu Shiqing, why do you catch a cold every other day?"
She still vividly remembered the last time he was bedridden due to a cold.
Lu Shiqing coughed twice, his expression slightly painful. The coughing affected his wound, and his pain was real. His fever had not completely subsided, so he didn't need to act at all.
He said weakly, "Why are you here?"
Yuan Cixian choked: "Didn't you ask Cao An to come find me?"
She had not slept the whole night because of Xu Shan's matter. She made the decision to cut the Gordian knot at dawn. She drafted the letter and sent it out early in the morning. She finally felt relieved. She wanted to have dinner early in the evening and go to bed early to have a good sleep, but Cao An was so anxious just now that it seemed as if Lu Shiqing was about to die, so she hurried over.
Lu Shiqing shook his head to indicate no: "He acted on his own initiative."
Yuan Cihan couldn't understand the master and servant. She thought that since he was here, she should take care of him like she did last time, so that he wouldn't get sick and become weak every now and then.
She looked around, wrung out a handkerchief, and put it on his forehead. Seeing him curled up in the corner of the bed, she asked, "Why are you wrapping yourself up so tightly? Isn't it difficult to dissipate heat?"
Of course, Lu Shiqing was afraid that the wound would be exposed, so he made an excuse: "I'm cold."
Yuan Cixian had never caught a cold before, and didn't know whether she should cover herself tightly in this situation. Hearing this, she hesitated and said, "Then..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Shiqing stretched out a hand from under the quilt and pulled her over.
With a "bang", she fell sideways on his bed, subconsciously supporting herself with her elbows, as if she had fallen and gone mad. She stared down at him blankly and asked, "...What are you doing?"
Lu Shiqing wanted to do something, but unfortunately, the force he exerted hurt his bones. He endured the pain from the wound and said calmly, "The opening of this bed is too big. You block the wind a little."
"… "
Yuan Cixian maintained a twisted and somewhat seductive posture to block the wind, looked at her boots that were already on his couch, and said in surprise: "Lu Shiqing, I didn't take a shower or take off my shoes. Are you crazy? Are you no longer obsessed with mysophobia?"
Hearing this, Lu Shiqing glanced at her shoes and said with a headache: "I forgot, can't you take them off yourself?"
Yuan Cixian scoffed at him and stood up: "I'd better move a stone for you to block the wind."
Lu Shiqing's head hurt even more, so he had to reach out and grab her arm again, frowning: "Yuan Cixian, do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand?"
She paused and looked back at him.
Of course she understood. If she still didn't understand, wouldn't she be a fool? But what was wrong with him? Although they had an engagement, they were not so close that they had to lie on the same bed.
Maybe it's because sick men are particularly vulnerable and need the care of their fiancées, Yuan Cixian thought to himself.
But she believed that Lu Shiqing, who always cared about his reputation, said one thing and did another, and had a harder mouth than a rock, would definitely give in and would never reveal his true intentions, so she insisted on playing dumb: "What do I need to understand?"
Unexpectedly, he acted out of character as if he had taken the wrong medicine. He looked at her steadily and said, "I'm not feeling well. I want you to sleep with me for a while."
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